It's finally finished. The titanic battle between Google and Oracle has been decided, and Google stands tall over the broken body of it's enemy. Okay, so that was a flagrant over-dramatization, but sometimes the creative writer in me grabs me and tosses me around like a rag-doll, just like what happened to Oracle. At any rate, the Judge in the Oracle vs. Google case has handed down his final ruling. Judge William Alsup ruled that Oracle's Java API elements are not copyrightable. Furthermore, all related claims against Google have been dismissed. Oracle did win on a couple of points, but their minuscule victory will end up costing them far more than it gained them. Here's a quote with some final details,

With the ruling, the jury's finding on the SSO infringement is now rendered moot, and after months of legal maneuvering Oracle now only has two things to show for its efforts: statutory damages for the use of nine lines of rangeCheck code and eight Java test files. At most, the pair will amount to a payout of just $300,000. Appeals are a certainty, however the specificity of Alsup's ruling here will make it that much more difficult for his decision to be overturned (Alsup's caution throughout the trial has indicated a real concern for making decisions that will be considered airtight when revisited later). Additionally, Alsup's not claiming that APIs are not copyrightable under all circumstances — only that these particular elements, when matched with the specifics of the copyrights Oracle applied for, aren't covered.

Nevertheless, it's a vindicating end to the proceedings for Google. The company has providing us with the following statement in response to the ruling:

The court's decision upholds the principle that open and interoperable computer languages form an essential basis for software development. It's a good day for collaboration and innovation.

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It's a great day for Justice, and I am not saying that because I am a fan of Android or Google. It's good to see that some sort of balance is beginning to take shape in the world of Intellectual Property rights. The Patent and Copyright wars have gone on for too long because the system is far too loose. Perhaps now that a specific ruling has been made, it will set a precedent that creates a ripple effect throughout the whole system.

Glad to see there's some sense out there. Beyond the judges attention the detail in this, the fact that he cited his knowledge of coding when pertinent to the case makes it highly unlikely that this will be overturned. Granted Oracle's lawyers are probably on yearly retainer for the most part, but it sounds like it's time for them to cut their losses and save face. As said above, I'm hopeful that this will drill some reality into the patent and intellectual property system as a whole.

Beyond the judges attention the detail in this, the fact that he cited his knowledge of coding when pertinent to the case makes it highly unlikely that this will be overturned.

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Actually, quite the opposite. The fact that the judge has knowledge of coding could easily be seen as prejudicial, and will probably be at the center of Oracle's appeal. When the judge said what he said about coding, I cringed, since that statement is the strongest chance that Oracle has at successfully appealing this ruling.

Actually, quite the opposite. The fact that the judge has knowledge of coding could easily be seen as prejudicial, and will probably be at the center of Oracle's appeal. When the judge said what he said about coding, I cringed, since that statement is the strongest chance that Oracle has at successfully appealing this ruling.

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Why would his knowledge of coding make him prejudicial? Just because he knows about coding doesn't mean he'd be more inclined to side with Google.

Why would his knowledge of coding make him prejudicial? Just because he knows about coding doesn't mean he'd be more inclined to side with Google.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

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Word. That's like saying that a judge who has presided over multiples cases involving industrial accidents and who studies industrial design in his free time is less qualified to give a ruling in a case of gross design negligence and improper use of materials than a family court judge. This judge's technical expertise is going to weigh very heavily in any decisions made by an appeals court and if Oracle doesn't let this lie they are doing nothing more than spinning their wheels instead of moving on and focusing on what they need to do to stay relevant in other areas.

Why would his knowledge of coding make him prejudicial? Just because he knows about coding doesn't mean he'd be more inclined to side with Google.

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No, but it does suggest that the judge would be more inclined to "look beyond" the evidence presented in trial because of his background in programming. His impartiality on the subject will be questioned at the appeals level, and it could become a big problem. He already stated an opinion on the code in question (that it would be easy to recreate) based on his computer background. His impartiality in evaluating the evidence could be questioned.

No, but it does suggest that the judge would be more inclined to "look beyond" the evidence presented in trial because of his background in programming. His impartiality on the subject will be questioned at the appeals level, and it could become a big problem. He already stated an opinion on the code in question (that it would be easy to recreate) based on his computer background. His impartiality in evaluating the evidence could be questioned.

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So if you're educated on a subject, you are no longer impartial? That doesn't really make any sense. You'd think you would WANT educated judges on these cases. It would be one thing if he had stock in Google, but he's just an educated code jockey.

Gotta agree that his knowledge of coding was a good thing. Or should be seen as one.

Do we start questioning the testimony of expert witnesses in court cases? If anything I dont want any judge that has no idea about tech on a tech case. How does one become a judge, are they lawyers first? If so...that means no judge should preside over any case....

Good logic jroc. Yes... most judges were lawyers first, and typically the best judges previously worked on both sides of the industry (at least when you are talking about criminal cases). In civil cases, and especially in technology patent law, it's a very good thing to have a judge (or a lawyer for that matter) with at least some decent knowledge of the way tech works. I was thrilled to see that the judge in this case had better than a precursory understanding of what he was presiding over. In fact, because of his knowledge, it is actually less likely that his ruling will be overtuned on appeal. Most judges confer with one another and/or have professional friendships/relationships with each other. I suspect that this judge is well-respected by his colleagues, and it would be a daunting challenge for any other judge to find holes in his ruling.

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